Communities Rally for Better Forest Management Across BC
By Contributor
The Boundary City has been listed as one of the sites where people across the province will join hands Saturday morning (April 6) at 10 a.m. to march in support of changing current forest management rules.
Marches are being held in Peachland, Port Alberni, Cowichan, Nanaimo, Vernon, Kelowna, Kimberly, Johnsons Landing, Salt Spring Island, Nelson, Golden and Grand Forks.
Forest March BC is a province-wide, grass-roots campaign aimed at creating a unified voice to tell the government what B.C. residents want for their forests. Residents are asking that forest legislation include eco-system restoration, sustainable forestry, and meaningful community consultation about forests.
Forest March BC organizer Jennifer Houghton is a survivor of the May 2018 flood which devastated Grand Forks. Flood-related business losses in Grand Forks are over $29 million, and the town has applied for $49 million in flood recovery funding from the Province. Almost a year after the flood, there are still people living in RVs and motels as a result of losing their homes.
Houghton, whose home had four feet of water in it, wants people to rally for changes to forestry legislation, so there are no more losses like she and her neighbours suffered. She said, “we need to manage our forests differently, to lessen the amount of spring flooding, reduce the degree of drought, and mitigate the impact of climate change.”
For more information about Forest March BC, and to find the location and start time of a march in your community, visit this link.
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